Winter Springs' Town Center Plan Hits A Wall

WINTER SPRINGS - A Las Vegas developer with grand plans to build a town center has defaulted on a pivotal land deal.

Rohit Joshi wants to develop 900 acres in central Winter Springs into a town center complete with shops, apartments and upscale homes.

But when it came time to put a cash deposit on more than 400 acres Joshi had under contract, he failed to deliver the money. The Schrimsher Group, which owns the property, notified Winter Springs this week that its deal with Joshi was dead.

The Schrimsher land was the biggest piece of the potential town center development along State Road 434.

``We're back to square one,'' said Michael Schrimsher. ``The land is for sale again.''

Joshi failed to provide a July 1 deposit required by the contract.

City Commissioner Michael Blake was not surprised. Large developments often have setbacks, he said, but it does not mean the hopes for a town center are on life support.

``Do I wish it hadn't happened? Yes,'' Blake said of the default. ``Is it the end? No.''

Joshi could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

City leaders are looking to Joshi for answers. Winter Springs commissioners have invited him to give an update in August.

Normally, a lost land deal is not a big concern. But the town center is a priority for the city. New development north of State Road 434 along Tuskawilla Road is designed to give the suburban city an old-style downtown. Joshi told city leaders he hoped to start construction by Oct. 1. That timetable now appears impossible.

City leaders are not the only ones asking questions about Joshi now.

The Seminole County Tax Appraiser's Office is considering whether to send Winter Springs City Hall a tax bill because the city is providing an office to Joshi, a private developer.

Winter Springs has given Joshi a free office at Winter Springs for the past three months. The city said when the arrangement was set up that it would last only until Joshi could build a sales center on the town center land. No office has been built or even started.

Terry Goembel, administrative director with the Tax Appraiser's Office, said that if the city was leasing public property to a private company, that portion of the building could become taxable.

City officials have said they are providing the space to stimulate economic development in Winter Springs.

Commissioners would like to see Joshi set up his own office.

``I think it is a foregone conclusion. I support it,'' Commissioner David McLeod said of Joshi's moving out of City Hall.